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(N0 Model.)

W. D. SMITH. ALARM APPARATUS FOR EIGHT DAY GLOGKS. No.269,4 75. Patented De0 .19 1882.

I 111V E1111] EL- hours,

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM D. SMITH, OF PITTSBURG, PENNSYLVANIA.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 269,475, dated. December 19, 1862,

Application filed October 9, 1882.

'Pittsburg, in the county of Allegheny and State of Pennsylvania, have invented a new I and useful Improvement in Alarm Apparatus for Clocks; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description thereof, reference being bad to the accompanying drawings, forming part of this speci- L'cation, in Which- Figure l is a front elevation, and Fig.2 a side elevation, of my alarm apparatus. Fig. 3 is a sectional side view of the alarm dial and disks, showing their connection with thehourhand shaft of the clock. Fig.4 is a front view of the alarm dial and disks and portion ofthe face of the clock. Figs. 5 and 6 are representations of the disks separately. Figs. 7 and 8 are rear views of the two disks in dili'erent relative positions.

In the several figures like letters of reference indicate the same parts of the mechanism.

My improvement is chiefly designed for the application of alarm apparatus to eight-day clocks, or clocks which run for a longer period than the ordinary one-day clocks, and in such a manner that the spring of the alarm apparatus shall not need to be rewound after each operation of the alarm, and also so that the alarm shall sound at intervals of twenty-four instead of every twelve hours, on the recurrence of the time for which it is set.

My improvement further consistsin certain devices, hereinafter specified, whereby the alarm apparatus is greatly simplified in construction, so as to be less liable to derangement, and whereby the works of the timemovement of the clock itself are almost entirely relieved from the strain of the alarm apparatus.

Alarm apparatus as ordinarily constructed for application to clocks requires to be wound up after each time that the alarm is sounded, and when this is the case an eight-day clock is very little better than a one-day clock. Alarm-clocks are also liable to the serious objection that the strain of the mainspring of the alarm apparatus acts as a brake on the clock-movement and,as this strain is relieved as soon as the alarm is sounded, the clock will run faster after that has taken place than it did (No model.)

I previously, and thus the efficiency of the clock as atimekeeper is materially impaired.

In order to enable those skilled in the art to make use of my invention, I Will proceed to describe the construction and operation of my apparatus.

.In Figs. 1 and 2, A A constitute the frame which carries the wheels and other devices constituting the alarm apparatus, which is secured inside the clock-case, below the clockmovement, by the arms a a a. A rod, B, is booked at its lower end to the lever B, by which the alarm is started and stopped, and at the upper end to a lever, O, which lever is pivoted at c to the front plate of the timemovement of the clock at one side of the center of the frame. The other or free end of the lever O has a finger, d, which has a broad edge resting upon the peripheries of two disks, D E, which are placed side by side-on the cylinder 0, which carries the hourhand of the clock, and through which the shaft of the minutehand passes. The rear one, E, of these two disks is rigidly attached to the cylinder 0, and the front disk, D, also turns with the cylinder 6, excepting where its motion is arrested, as hereinafter described, in which case the cylinder 0 turns, while the disk 1) remains stationary. The front disk, D, is circular, and has a deep notch, n, (shown in Figs. 1 and 3,) into which the finger d of the lever 0 drops, whereby the free end of the lever is allowed to fall sufficiently to start the alarm by lowering a pin, j, out of the way of the rod Z, which, in its raised position, arrested the motion of the clapper of the alarm. The rear disk, E, is not circular like the disk D, but has a cam-shaped projection,f, (shown in Figs.6 and 7,) which is diametrically opposite to the notch 0 in its circumference, which notch corresponds to the notch l n in the disk D; and when in the revolution of the alarm-dial F these notches coincide the finger d of the lever G fallsinto the notch and sets off the alarm apparatus. It is by the combination of these disks D and E that the operation of the alarm at intervals of twentyfour instead of twelve hours is accomplished, and it is an important part of my invention, as it efiects the desired result by very simple means. It will be necessary, therefore, to de scribe these disks and their operation more fully.

The notch n in the circular disk D has two parallel sides, (see Fig. 5,) and a slight projection or pin, i, which extends outward from the periphery of the disk just as far from its center as the cam-shaped projectionf projects from the center of the disk E. Another and similar pin, i, projects from the periphery of the disk D from a point'diametrically opposite to the pin 7 As the alarm-dial F revolves with the hour-hand, to the cylindrical shaft of which it is attached, and as the disks D and E also revolve with the hour-hand, the alarm would go off every twelve hours if the notches n and in the two disks coincided at all times, and would not go off at all if they never coincided. It is obvious, therefore, that if the notches in these two disks are caused to coincide once in every period of twenty-four hours the alarm would sound only at the interval last mentioned. In order to accomplish this result, then, it is only necessary that the notched disk D, which is loose on the shaft 6 of the hour-hand, should revolve once intwenty-four hours, while the notched disk E, which is fixed to the shaft 0, necessarily revolves once in twelve hours, and this arrangement of two notched disks, one revolving in twelve and the other in twenty-four hours, I claim as my improvement, independently ofthe method by which this difference in time of revolution is effected. This difference in speed might obviously be effected by means of gearing connected with each disk and an interposed idler-wheel, or by other known mechanical contrivance; but as such arrangement would be more complicated and liable to get out of order, I prefer the device of cams and pins which lhave described, and the operation of which is as follows The disks 1) and E, being close together, side by side, revolve with the hour-hand shaft, as befoie described, in the direction of the arrows in Figs. and 6, with the finger d of the lever U resting upon their peripheries. When, in the revolution of the disks D and E, the pin 6 on disk D reaches the finger d the revolution of the disk D is arrested, while the disk E (attached to the hourhand shalt) continues its revolution. This cessation of motion ofthe disk D continues so long as the finger dis in contact with the pin i-that is, until the camfon the disk E reaches the pin 1'. The camf then raises the finger d sufficiently to allow the pint to pass under the finger d, and then the disk D resumes its revolution, revolving with the disk E until the other pin, i, on disk D comes in contact with the finger d, which occurs at a half-revolution of the disks, or in six hours of time, when the motion of the disk D is again arrested. Thus it is obvious that the disk D remains stationary during every alternate period of six hours and moves with the disk E during the other six hours. Thus it happens that the notches in the disks D and E must coincide only once in every two complete revolutions of the disk E, and that at stated periods of twenty-four hours apart, as the disk E revolves with the hour-hand.

The alarm-dial F is set in the usual way, the hour indicated on the alarm-dial at which it is desired that the alarm should be sounded being placed (by turning the alarm-dial F) at any time directly under the hour-hand of the clock, the resultofwhich is that when the hands of the time-movement of the clock indicate the hour at which the alarm-dial is so set the notch 0 in the disk E will reach the finger d of the alarm-lever G and the finger at will drop into the notch 0, provided that the notch a in the other disk, D, coincides with it, and then the alarm will be sounded; but if the notch )t in disk D does not so coincide with the notch o in the disk E, then the alarm is not sounded until the hands of the time-movement of the clock indicate the same hour after an interval of twelve hours, and then the notches a and 0 will certainly coincide and the alarm will be sounded. The finger is raised out of the notch n in the disk D by means of the eccentricity of the face of the disk E on one side of its notch, as shown at m in Figs. 6 and 7.

From what has already been stated it will appear that in setting the alarm to go offat any given'time it will depend on the relative position of the disks D and E whether the alarm will sound at the next occurrence of the desired time or on its recurrence at the lapse of twelve hours thereafter; and in order to indicate the position of the disks and enable the user to set the alarm to go olf within either twelve or twentyfour hours next after setting it, as may be desired, I attach to the loose disk D two wires, g g, near to the pins 45 i, and at the end of each wire I attach a plate, It it, one bearing the figure 12 and the otherthe figure 24. These wires gg extendradiallyfrom disk D far enough beyond the circumference of the alarm-dial F to permit the figures on one of the plates h or h to be visible through a hole in the face of the clock a short distance below the figures Xll, as seen in Fig. 4, where the figures 12 appear through such an opening. The wire g, bearing the plate h, inscribed Wll h the figures 24, should be attached to the disk D near to the notch 02, and the other wire and plate near to the pin t,on the opposite side of the disk. When thus constructed and arranged, if, on setting the alarm to go ofiat any required hour, the figures 12 should appear at the opening in the face of the clock above the alarm-dial, it indicates that as then set the alarm will sound at the next occurrence of the desired time. If, however, this is notdesired, but it is required that the alarm should not go off within twelve hours, it will only be necessary to give the alarm-dial one complete revolution on its axis, bringing the required hour IOI u in the alarm-dial F again under the hour-hand of the clock, and as then set the alarm will not sound until the clock has asecond time indicatedthe required hour 5 and after that the alarm will go off at each alternate recurrence ment-wheel 5 engage an escapement, c, in such of the required time,

on a shaft, 1', by which the spring is wound up.

at intervals of twenty- I four hours exactly.

The arrangement I have described may be applied to any alarm apparatus in which the alarm is started by raising a pawl or detent operated by clockwork at regular intervals of time, whether the alarm itself be operated by clock-work, electricity, or otherwise, and I desire to claim it for all such purposes.

It nowremains to describe the construction, arrangement, and operation of the alarm apparatus represented in the accompanying drawmgs.

In the frame A is a coiled mainspring, S,

This is furnished with the usual ratchet-wheel and pawl to retain the spring, so as to prevent its unwinding without operating the prime cogwheel 1. The prime Wheel 1 gears into a pinion, 2, on the shaft of a second wheel, 3, which meshes into a pinion, 4, on the shaft of an escapement-wheel, 5. The teeth of the escapemanner that as the escapement-wheel 5 revolves it effects a rapid vibratory motion of "the escapement m. To the shaft of the escapement is rigidly fixed the wire u, at the lower extremity of which is the clapper e, which strikes the alarm -bell I with repeated and rapid strokes.

On the shaft of the escapement-wheel 5 is a pinion, 6, located in front of the front frame A. This gears into a cog-wheel, 7, which carries on its shaft a pinion,8, which in turn gears into the starting-wheel w. This startin g-wheel is a cog-wheel pivoted on a short shaft, 2, fixed to the frame of A in a central position, and when geared as above described will make a single revolution in about thirty seconds. The train of wheels and pinions interposed between the prime wheel 1 on the mainspring-shaft and the starting-wheel to may be so arranged by the use of a different number of wheels or by a different relative proportion in the number of cogs on the wheels and pinions as to cause a single revolution of the starting-wheel 'w to be effected in a longer or-shorter time, according to the length of time during which it is desired that the alarm should continue to sound, the period beinglimited in my apparatus to one revolution of the wheel 20.

()nthe shaft z of the wheel w is pivoted a stop,p, the motion of which on its axis is slight, being limited by a pin, I), on its under side entering a slot in the side of the wheel w, a spring, 8, attached to the side of the wheel w, and pressing against the rear side of the stop p. The stop extends nearly to the periphery of the wheel to, and is large enough at its free end to engage with the detent b when it is lowered by the depression of the lever O, as heretofore described.

The detent b is a short arm projecting downward from a lever, H, pivoted to the frame A at y, the free end of the lever being connected with the rod B, which in turn is connected wheel to, sufficiently to engage the stop 1) on the wheel w when the detent is lowered.

Attached to the lever His a horizontal pin, j, (see Fig. 2,) which projects backward through the front plate of the frame A in such position as that when the lever H is raised the pinj will engage a rod, Z, and when the lever is lowered will remove the pinj out of theway and allow the free vibration of the clapper '0. The rod 1 is rigidly attached to the clapperrod shaft, and thereforemustvibrate withit. Thus, when the detent-lever H is raised by the raising of the lever U, the alarm is prevented from sounding, notwithstanding that the detent b is freed from contact with the stop 19.

I employ also another device for stopping the alarm at any time that may be desired, or of preventing its going 0d at all. This consists of a shaft, G, at the top of the frame A, to which shaft is attached ashort bent arm, q, which, when the lever t in the front extremity of the shaft G is turned down, causes the bent arm q to engage the rod Z, and thus silence the alarm or prevent its operation. The levert should be placed in front ofthe frame A, so that it may be readily operated at pleasure.

The ordinary position of the lever O is a raised position slightly above the horizontal, it being kept up by the finger d at its free end resting on the peripheries of the disks D and E, as before described, and it is only able to fall sufficiently to stop the alarm apparatus when its finger (Z drops into the notches n and 0 in the disks. Thus when the lever O and lever H are in a lowered position the alarm is stopped; but, as I have already explained, the alarm, when otherwise free to operate, is also arrested by the pin j on the raising of the levers O and H. Now, when the levers O and H are lowered and the detent b of the lever H engages the stop 1) on the wheel to, the apparatus is in the condition which the parts occupy when the alarm has just finished'sounding. During the ensuing interval of twentyfour hours, before it has again to operate, the lever O, and with it the lever H and detent b, are gradually raised by the disk E, as before described; but as the raisingof the detentlever H also raises the pinj into contact with the rod Z, the alarm is not started until the lever 0 is again allowed to fall by the finger (Z on its free extremity entering the notches a and 0 in the disks D and E. Then the stop 1) (being in advance of the point occupied by the detent b when it is lowered) presents no obstacle to the revolution of the starting-wheel w, and the pin j being lowered with the lever H, the alarm apparatus is unlocked and commences at once to operate, ringing the alarmbell continuously until the wheel 20 completes its revolution, bringing the stop 19 in contact with the detent b, and thus again arresting the motion of the wheel to and stopping the alarm.

Although the alarm would be arrested in its operation by the raising of the lever O and of the lever H by means of the pin j, this would not take place soon enough, because the disks D and E only revolve once in twelve hours, and the spring of the alarm would run down before the alarm could be stopped in that way. Hence the necessity of the use of the stop 19 on the wheel to, which, as the wheel to revolves in less than sixty seconds, arrests the alarm without expending the whole power of the spring S.

The spring 8, placed back of the stop 1), arrests the backward motion of the stop 19 when it comes in contact with the detent b, gradually, and thus prevents any jarring effect which would accompany any sudden stoppage of the clapper of the alarm, the motion of the wheel 19 not being entirely arrested until the pressure of the spring 8 is sufficient to overcome the force of the mainspring S on the wheel 1; but the application of the spring 8 to the pivoted stop 1) performs another and more important function in causing the stop to make a slight forward motion when the detent bis removed. The necessity of this will be seen from the fact that when the detent bis raised by the rising of the lever H the motion of the train of wheels in the alarm apparatus is still arrested by means of the pinj and rod l, which retain the wheelw in the same position. Now, if the stop 1) also remained in the same place when the detent is raised as betore, when next the lever H and detent b were lowered on the arrival of the time for starting the alarm the detent I) would again fall in front of the stop 1), and thus prevent the starting of the train of wheels of the alarm apparatus. The spring 8, applied to the pivoted stopp, however, obviates this difficulty, because as soon as the detent I) is raised by the raising of the lever H, after the alarm has sounded, the stop 1), being released, is pressed forward by the spring 8, so that when the detent again falls and releases the locking device to set the alarm in motion the stopp has been moved forward sufficiently to be out of the way of the detent I), and permits the latter to fall, so as to unlock the alarm apparatus and bein position to arrest the wheel to in the completion of its revolution, and thus stop the alarm.

The operation of my apparatus has been already so fully described that it needs only to add that after the alarm has sounded and ceases to operate on the completion of the revolution of the wheel to, as just described, the lever O is gradually raised by the camshoulder at in the disk E before the time when the alarm is to be again operated; but this raising of the lever 0, although it also raises the detent Z) from con tact with the stop 19, does not set the alarm apparatus in motion, because when the lever H is raised the pinj engages the rod 1, and thus retains the alarm apparatus in a locked condition; but as soon as the lever (l and detent-lever H drop (when the time for sounding the alarm has arrived) the pinj releases the rod 1, and the alarm immediately goes off. When the lever H drops to start the alarm the detent Z) drops behind the stopp into the proper position to arrest the rotation of the wheel to and silence the alarm as soon as the wheel to has completed one revolution.

It will be noticed that in my apparatus there is no strain upon the time-movement of the clock from the mainspringof the alarm, so that the isochronism of the clock is not impaired by any connection between the time-movement and the alarm apparatus. Then the alarm is silenced, that is effected by means of a stop which has no connection with the time-movement, and when the alarm is started, it is done by simply lowering a pin which prevented the 'vibration of the clapper ofthe alarm and without any jar to the time-movement. The same desirable results would ensue from the starting and stopping of the alarm apparatus by the described means in alarm-clocks designed to operate every twelve hours, in whiclrcase it would only be necessary to use one disk. In that case the disk employed would be like the disk E, the disk D, with its wires and plates, being dispensed with, and the cam-projection f on the disk E being omitted. The other parts of the apparatus would be the same as before described, and the apparatus would possess all the advantages I have mentioned, excepting that the alarm would sound at intervals of twelve instead of twenty-four hours.

Having thus described my improvement, what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

l. The combination ofthe following devices: first, a clock or equivalent time-moven'ient; second, an alarm apparatus consisting of a train of wheels operated by a spring independently of the time-movement, a starting-wheel geared mediately or immediately with the escapement which operates the alarm, a springstop on said wheel to arrest the same at the end of each revolution, and a locking arm or rod attached to the escapement; and, third, a lever connected with a time-movement, substantially as described, whereby the lever is moved at regular intervals in one direction to engage the locking arm or red of the alarm and arrest its motion, and in the other direction to release the locking arm or rod and permit of the operation of the alarm, and also to arrest the motion of the starting-wheel and stop the alarm at the end ofsuch revolution of the starting-wheel, substantially as described.

2. In an alarm apparatus having a train of wheels actuated by a mainspring independently of tho time-movement of a clock, the starting-wheel w and spring-stop p, in combination with lever H, with its detent for arresting the motion of the wheel w when it has completed one revolution, and pin j for lock- IlO Ils

ing the alarm when the lever H is raised, said lever being raised and lowered at regular intervals of time by means of.the independent time-movement, substantially as described.

3. The combination of an alarm apparatus, operated by a mainspring or otherwise independently of a time-movement or clock, with a starting-wheel, w, gearing with the train of wheels of the alarm apparatus, and a lever, H, or equivalent device operated by the time movement, for arresting the revolution of the wheel to and starting it in operation again, substantially as described.

4. The combination of the starting-wheel to, having a spring-st0p,'p, with the detent-lever H, said lever and wheel being actuated by different and independent mechanisms, substantially as and for the purposes described.

5. The combination of the circular disk D and cam-disk E in the'hour-hand shaft of the time-movement, the disk D having pins it projecting from diametrically-opposite points of its circumference, and the disk E having a cam-projection equal in height to the pins t i, in combination with a lever, 0, connected with the starting device of an alarm apparatus, the free end of the lever resting upon the peripheries of the disks D and E, whereby the disk D is caused to complete one revolution in twenty-four hours, while the disk E, moving with the hour-hand of the time-movement, makes one revolution in twelve hours, substantially asdeseribed.

6. In an alarm apparatus, the parallel disks D and E on the main or hour-hand shaft of the time-movement, each disk having a notch in its circumference, one disk revolving with the hour-hand in twelve hours and the other revolving in twenty-four hours, substantially as described, in combination with a lever, 0, connected with the starting device of an alarm independently operated by clock-work or otherwise, the free end of which lever rests upon the peripheries of said disks, for the purpose of starting the alarm by the motion of the lever O at intervals of twenty-four hours.

7. In an alarm apparatus, the combination, with the two notched disks D and E, revolving one in twelve and the other in twentyfour hours, of the wires 9 gand plate h h, or equivalent device, for the purpose of indicating the proper relative position of the disks, so that the notches in the disks may coincide and the alarm be set in operation within either WILLIAM 1). SMITH.

Witnesses J NO. K. SMITH, JOHN S. KENNEDY. 

